Epress.am News from Armenia
On Thursday, June 18, the Armenian police once again used force against the mothers of soldiers who died in the Armenian army in non-combat conditions, as well as civilians who'd gathered in front of the RA presidential palace in support of the parents.
As in previous weeks, today law enforcement officers blocked the way to the office of the president. For about an hour the police refused to comply with the requirement of the mothers to let them to the gates of the residence, after which the women – Gohar Sargsyan, Irina Ghazaryan, Heriknaz Muradyan – took to the carriageway in en effort to bypass the human barrier on the sidewalk in front of the office.
The police tried to remove the parents and their supporters from the roadway, all the while pushing and pulling Irina Ghazaryan.
One of the protesters, civic activist Vardges Gaspari demanded that police officers stop touching Ghazaryan. The police continued to move forward in a circle, Gaspari lay on the ground, after which 6 officers grabbed his arms and legs and dragged him roughly to the opposite sidewalk, smashing the citizen's glasses in the process.
By that time the mothers had managed to reach the gates of the presidential residence. A law enforcement officer, seeing that all the journalists with cameras had followed the women, and there was no one videotaping him, knocked artist Ara Petrosyan to the ground, who'd come to Gaspari's defense.
The police allowed the protesters to remain in front of the residence for only 10 minutes, after which they re-formed the circle and pushed the mothers and their supporters down the street. In the meantime, one of the officers hit Ara Petrosyan in the head, twisted his arms, and pushed him away from the gates.
Only Irina Ghazaryan, who was not feeling well, was allowed to stay in front of the residence. Later, Human rights activist Mikayel Danielyan managed to break though the police barrier and give Ghazaryan a pill.
Later, the woman was transferred to the ambulance which had been called to the scene, from where subsequently were heard sounds of an argument. Coming out of the car, the agitated doctor said the woman was ''in hysteria,'' which further angered those present. "When I get angry, I get really angry," the doctor returned, and the protesters urged him to ''behave himself.''
Soon after the doctor left, and a second ambulance arrived at the scene. In a conversation with reporters Irina Ghazaryan quoted the doctor saying to her: "You're unable to deal with [RA president Serzh Sargsyan], so you're pouring out your anger on me?''
Recall, the group of parents who have been holding weekly protests in front of the RA presidential palace for years are demanding fair investigation into their sons' deaths and a meeting the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan.